HL Deb 19 July 2004 vol 664 cc4-6WS
Lord Bach

My honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence (Mr Ivor Caplin) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

As part of the Government's continuing commitment to investigate Gulf veterans' illnesses openly and honestly, data on the mortality of veterans of the 1990–91 Gulf conflict are regularly published. The most recent figures for the period 1 April 1991 to 30 June 2004, were published on 14 July 2004. The tables from that publication are set out below. Table 1 gives the causes of death to UK Gulf veterans over that period; table 2 shows the deaths due to malignant cancers among Gulf veterans. As with previous information, the data for Gulf veterans are compared with those of a control group known as the era cohort which is made up of Armed Forces personnel of a similar age, gender, service, regular/reservist status and rank who were not deployed to the Gulf.

Key points to note are:

  • there were 663 deaths among Gulf veterans up to 30 June 2004 compared to 675 in the era comparison group; and
  • approximately 1,032 deaths would have been expected in a similar sized group taken from the general population of the UK with the same age and gender profile.

Table 1: Deaths to UK Gulf Veterans1 April 1991–30 June 2004
Causes2
ICD Chapter Cause of death Gulf Era Mortality Rate Ratio 95% Confidence Interval
Pedestrian 16 6 2.65 (0.99–8.28)
Motorcycle rider 34 28 1.21 (0.71–2.07)
Car occupant 42 30 1.39 (0.85–2.31)
Other4 44 42 1.04 (0.67–1.63)
Water transport 5 1 4.98 (0.56 235.33)
Air and space transport 26 20 1.29 (0.69–2.44)
Other external causes of accidental injury: 67 59 1.13 (0.78–1.63)
Falls 7 6 1.16 (0.33–4.18)
Exposure to inanimate mechanical forces 12 14 0.85 (0.36–1.99)
Accidental drowning and submersion and other accidental threats to breathing 13 6 216 (0.76–6.92)
Accidental poisoning by and exposure to noxious substances 15 15 1.00 (0.45–2.18)
Accidental exposure to other and unspecified factors 16 12 1.33 (0.59–3.07)
Other 4 6 0.66 (0.14–2.80)
Intentional self-harm and events of undetermined intent5 121 110 1.09 (0.84–1.43)
Assault 5 9 0.55 (0.15–1.84)
Legal intervention and operations of war 2 2 1.00 (0.07–13.73)
Sequelae of external causes of morbidity and mortality 0 2 0.00 (0.00–5.30)
Deaths where the inquest has been Adjourned 0 2
Other deaths for which cause data are not yet available 12 19
Overseas deaths for which cause data are not available 4 4

Notes1. Service and ex-Service personnel only.

2. Causes have been coded to the World Health Organisation's International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th revision (ICD—10), 1992.

3. Includes cases with insufficient information on the death certificate to provide a known cause of death.

4. Under ICD—10 coding if the death certificate does not specifically mention the type of vehicle that was

Table 2: Deaths to UK Gulf veterans due to neoplasms: 1 April 1991–30 June 2004
Major cancer sites and specific sites with at least 5 deaths in one of the cohorts
ICD Cancer site Gulf Era Mortality Rate Ratio 95% Confidence Interval
C00-D48 Neoplasms 129 141 0.91 (0.71–1.16)
COO-C99 Malignant Neoplasms (MN) 126 138 0.91 (0.71–1.17)
COO-C14 MN of lip, oral cavity and pharynx 6 4 1.49 (0.35–7.19)
C15-C26, C48 MN of digestive organs and peritoneum 29 35 0.82 (0.49–1.39)
C15 MN of oesophagus 9 5 1.79 (0.54–6.80)
C18 MN of colon 4 14 0.28 (0.07–0.91)
C25 MN of pancreas 5 6 0.83 (0.20–3.26)
C30-C39, C45 MN of respiratory and intrathoracic organs 19 30 0.63 (0.34–1.57)
C34 MN of bronchus and lung 16 26 0.61 (0.31–1.19)
C40-C44, C47, C49 C50 MN of bone, connective tissue, skin and breast 15 12 1.24 (0.54–2.91)
C43 Malignant melanoma of skin 7 5 1.39 (0.38–5.57)
C51-C68 MN of genitourinary organs 5 7 0.71 (0.18–2.60)
C69-C80 MN of other and unspecified sites 26 34 0.76 (0.44–1.31)
C71 MN of brain 17 20 0.85 (0.42–1.70)
C80 MN without specification of site 8 11 0.72 (0.25–1.98)
C81-C96 MN of lymphatic and haematopoietic tissue 26 16 1.62 (0.84–3.23)
C81-C85, C91.4, C96 Lymphomas 13 9 1.44 (0.57–3.81)
C82-C85, C91.4, C96 Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma 9 6 1.49 (0.47–5.10)
C91-C95 excl C91.4 Leukaemias 11 6 1.82 (0.62–6.01)
C92 Myeloid leukaemia 8 4 1.99 (0.53–9.03)
D00-D48 In situ neoplasms, benign neoplasms and neoplasms of uncertain behaviour or unspecified nature 3 3 1.00 (0.13–7.43)

involved in the accident, the death is coded to "motor-or non-motor vehicle accident, type of vehicle unspecified". (35 deaths to Gulf veterans compared to 33 in the era group)

5. These events have been given a coroner's verdict of suicide or open verdict death. It includes one death which has been coded to F11.1 by ONS. This death has been excluded from the mental and behavioural disorders.